Mail-catcher



A. T. BACON.

MAIL GATGHBR.

(No Model.)

No. 488,858. Patented Nov. 22, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED T. BACON, OF STEVENS POINT, WISCONSIN.

MAIL-CATCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,658, dated November 22, 1892.

Application filed August 19, 1892. Serial No. 443,476. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED T. BACON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Stevens Point, in the county of Portage, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Catchers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to improve such mail-catchers as individually consist of a bent iron bar joined at its inner end to a lever-controlled sleeve loose on a horizontal rod set across a doorway in the side of a baggage or mail car, said bar being designed to catch in the loop-handle of a suspended mailbag.

With said object in view my invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a plan View of an ordinary mail-catcher embodying my invention and in position to perform the operation for which it is designed; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of a portion of the same, taken on line 2 2 of the succeeding figure; and Fig. 3, atransverse section taken on line 3 3 ot' the preceding igure.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents an outwardly-tapered iron bar having an angle-bend b in its thicker portion,`

the inner end of this bar being in the-form of a hook c, to which is cast an arm CZ of a sleeve B, the latter' being provided with a hand-lever C and loosely arranged on a rod D, having its support in brackets e, that in practice are arranged on opposite sides of a doorway in the side of a baggage or mail car. As thus far described the device is similar to those in common use; but it frequently happens that a mail-bag caught on the bar A will slide off before it can be swung down and secured-a result that may be avoided by the means to be now described.

In carrying out my invention I provide the forward end of the sleeve B with a countersunk recess f, and within this recess I pivot a bell-crank trip-catch E and arrange a iiat spring F under compression against said tripcatch, which latter has its pivot-line approximately opposite the angle-bend b in the arm A and rests at one or the other extremity against a shoulder g, formed by counter-sinking the recess in said sleeve.

In practice the loop-handle of a caught mail-bag coming against the trip-catch E, normally set in the position shown by full and dotted lines in Fig. l, and overcoming the spring F causes said trip-catch to turn on its pivot and assume the position shown in Fig. 2. Owing to the fact that the bar A is moving and the mail-bag stationary when the above-described operation takes place, there is sufficient force to turn the trip-catch on its pivot and permit of the loop-handle of said mail-bag passing onto that portion of said bar in rear of the angle-bend b to be there retained by means of the aforesaid trip-catcl1 held in the reversed position by the power of said spring.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An ordinary mailcatcher having the sleeve portion thereof provided with a recess, a pivotedV bell-crank, and a spring arranged in the recess to impinge against the bellcrank, substantially as set forth.

2. An ordinary mail-catcher having the sleeve portion thereof provided with a recess, a bellcrank pivoted within the recess, a spring arranged in said recess to impinge against the bell-crank, and stops arranged to limit the throw of said bell-crank in either direction, substantially as set forth.

3. An ordinary inail-catcher having the sleeve portion thereof provided with a countersunk recess, a bell-crank pivoted within the recess, and a spring arranged in said recess to impinge against the bell-crank, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Stevens Point, in the county of Portage and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED T. BACON.

Witnesses:

JOHN R. MCDONALD, GEORGE MAINE. 

